20 Ways Grocery Stores Trick You Into Spending Money

You probably spend more time in grocery stores than in any other type of store. That means that you have to be on the alert for all of the subtle ways that grocery stores trick you into spending money. If you’re not paying attention, you can walk out with a bill much higher than you were expecting, all because you failed to notice when the grocery stores were tricking you into spending more than you planned.

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sometimes the multiple deals requrie u to by a set amount or u pay a higher amount

wiseshopper

so true . . . . this is happening more often in the grocery stores. u have you buy all 4 items or you pay the higher price for the one.

cebelina

interesting…you publish an article on how grocery stores try to get us to buy things and yet instead o listing tips on one page have us wade through 21 pages all full of ads in order to do the very thing this article is saying is trying to prevent: overspending…yikes! I don’t have time!

Laurie R

Hahaha! I did not think of this Cebelina, good one!!

Lorrie

Cebelina, it’s ok to just not spend the time going through the whole thing. There’s no need for the snide comments. Others may find this helpful. I appreciate the work Amber and others do, so I don’t mind if it’s a long article or not.

although a most points are valid, number 9 about shelving height isn’t a trick, in retail eye level is the most expensive shelf to house a product because it is right there; Its prime real estate. With the point about sampling its manufacturer or distributor of the product that does this usually the grocery store makes nothing from this. I can sense some hate for grocery stores here

Kev

I dont how you can say grocery stores are tricking you , like really , produce is in the front because thats where the store makes good profit on , milk is in the back cause stores lose their shirts on in , if dont like go pay like 10 dollars at a gas station or something , why in the hell would a grocery store milk at the front if they are losing money,and you talking about some the product like sugar and chips , that has nothing to do with the stores , do you just maybe that the chip company is tricking you?i can go but i dont have tim.e to respond to 21 silly pages , fix your title.

Donna M

We always tell the kids if they are good and don’t ask for things we can go to the dollar store when we are finished and they can get a toy. Works most times

wiseshopper

You’re a smart mom and probably a great one too!

grandma lynda

From the time my boys could sit in the cart without being held up I would give them something they liked to eat to hold. I told them I was busy and I might lose that thing if they didn’t hold onto it to the cash register. They always held onto it and handed it to me when we got there.
None of the I want this cereal or what ever. Then they watched as it went through the cash and I rarely had them ask for candy bars or anything at the cash. They had a job to do and they did it.

Sometimes I see Milk 2 for 6 dollars I ask the clerk if I buy one whats the price 3 dollars okay I’ll take one

Jeff

I worked in a supermarket while in high school and college and for a few years afterwards. I can suggest a few additions to your list.

Shelf labels usually include some kind of unit price, such as the cost per 100 grams or per fluid ounces. That lets you compare different sizes of the same product, as well as other brands, to see which is the best buy. The print is small on the labels and you may need to kneel down to see the ones on the bottom shelf, but you might be surprised at how much the unit cost varies for different sizes of the same thing.

Also, not every product in a flyer or newspaper ad is actually on sale. Just because it’s included and the price is superimposed on a starburst doesn’t mean the price is any lower than any other week. Many people assume that everything in the ad or flyer is on sale, but I’ve seen as many as 1/3 of the advertised items were at their regular price. It’s possible the store got a special deal from the supplier to feature the product, so if they can get you to buy extras at the normal price, they just boosted their profit at your expense.

Finally, always, always, ALWAYS check the “best before” dates on everything you buy. Some stores are very good at rotating stock, but at others, they couldn’t care less and if you don’t check, you could get something that will go bad before you can finish it. There’s nothing wrong with digging to the back to get the freshest product, either. If they’ve put it on the shelf with older items, it’s fair game for you to choose it instead.

wiseshopper

Thank you for your extra comments. Your last one is so true! I try to look at the expiration date but sometimes I forget if I’m in a hurry. It’s important on all products, but I find especially so on dairy products. My husband does most of the shopping and I try to get him to look at the expiration dates but he often forgets.

sherri

I don’t understand the idea that buying produce first will temp me to buy other less nutritious items. When I stock up on fresh produce, it sets the tone for the rest of my shopping to pick up healthy options. Maybe that’s just me.

http://maroxa.blogspot.ca MarieRoxanne

I am a vegan so this is what I do too, if my grocery cart is full of veggies and fruits, it’s kind of difficult to add a bag of chips on top!

momof3

There is an iPhone app called Grocery Exchange by Pingwell Inc that allows you to compare prices among different grocery supermarkets. This is great tool to beat “loss leader” tactic!

http://boninkcreations.com Jon Bon

No one needs to trick an impulse buyer; by definition they’ll buy things they don’t need/didn’t come for. I personally believe no one is being tricked, but rather being shown exactly what they want.
I walk in with a list and a budget, and walk out with what’s on the list plus an extra item or two I may have forgotten to write down, but never over budget. I’m not entirely certain how it could boil down to anything other than impulse control. As an adult I doubt someone would read this and magically gain the impulse control they lacked for years prior.
I do think these are great tips for someone learning to shop for their first time though. Sort of a way to teach new consumers to have a critical eye.
Great read, but I believe your title was misleading and too flashy to properly represent the subject matter. Faulting the grocery store as ‘tricksters’ I think is a bit harsh.

Good call to the poster who pointed out the irony of the article type comparative to the nature of its content(no fault to the writer, but noteworthy none the less).

Don Chamberlin

I think you are being a little heavy handed. There is nothing wrong with being a good salesman. I use the unit cost information to find the best deal, and use a list. If I buy things not on the list, they are things I can use that store well. The store you have chosen to ridicule is clean and attractive. Be thankful you have a place like this to buy your food.

Bruce Lorraine

OMG tricked into spending $20 at the grocery store again this month,OMG will the horror ever end?

grandma lynda

Some people honestly cannot afford that $20. but they buy it without thinking about the end of the month. Nice that you can afford to do it and make fun of that particular tip. All should be so lucky.

joe smith

The air is to keep chips from getting crunched up. Otherwise you have flavored corn meal. it’s also nitrous oxide, so take your whippet and chill the fuck out.

grandma lynda

went to a no frills store and went through the entire store as it was new.
Only bought things in the dollar bins and the end of the aisles. The only thing I bought in the reg. shelves, was a deal on chicken legs back attached. They were $1.00 a lb.
Walked out with only things I needed and spent $60. No list just it was a nice new grocery store and I love shopping for groceries.
The tips were great but boy did it take a long time to go through them. Next time don’t do the store tricks and put them all together, Please.

KevinMP

Package colouring, health claims, package size (cost per unit) etc are not tactics used by grocery stores. These are product aspects determined by the manufacturer and its marketing divisions. To imply that the retailer uses these tricks to attract customers is misleading. (The retailer does not care if you buy one brand or the other, they just want you to buy one of them. Manufacturers will pay to have their product promoted by placements in the store outside of “sale pricing” periods.) Product placement within the store, so-called “power aisles”, price fixing, and multi-buy pricing are all used by the retailer to lure customers.
Other things like “bakery smells” definitely bring customers into a store, but it is not completely a trick. Stores do not pump artificial bakery smells through the air vents, or at least if they do, there should be a law against it. Most grocery stores have a bakery. It is a requirement to fill the demands of shoppers. Not everyone wants mass produced, chemical rich, highly processed, preservative laden packaged bread all the time. The bakeries time their schedules so that fresh breads and buns are coming out of the oven at peak shopping periods during the day. See that as a trick if you like, but if I want fresh bakery bread, I want it warm and fresh, not something that has been sitting on the shelf for three or four hours.

DownhillDude

Watch for extreme discounts on items past their Best Before Date. Also, not all volume bundles are good deals. I find this more often with toothpaste, and other items that stores regularly compete on. The single unit price is almost always cheaper than the per unit price of the multiples.

Costco and Walmart are not the end-all, be-all, in low prices either. Shop around, and compare.

Also, check if your favorite store has a price matching policy, and bring the competitor’s flyer. Might add another minute at checkout, but save you more time (and gas) versus driving around for a few sale items. As well, the store that advertises the extreme specials is frequently out of it by the time you get there, whereas the competitor will still have plenty of inventory.

Grandma

It’s called self discipline. Go shopping after you’ve had breakfast if it’s on the weekend or after dinner if it’s during the week. You are less likely to buy anything that is not on your grocery list if you are not hungry and if you are full; you will not be tempted by the bakery smells. Estimate what your bill should be and go with cash only; leave your debit and credit cards at home and you’ll be fine.

Kev

lol i was half asleep typing that , so many mistakes

the bar 20

You have to shop. Always check the per ounce price on the shelf plate. No matter
what the retailer says they are doing for you. You would be surprised at what
occurs there.

Grumpy

Perishables like milk and eggs and such aren’t at the back of the store because “they” want you to walk through the whole store twice to get milk and eggs.
The store back is the closest location to the storage refrigeration and shipping dock. You want your perishables to spend as little time unrefrigerated as possible, and the best way to do that is to put these items very close to where they come off the trucks.
It’s not a dirty trick to force you to walk through the store; it just works out that way.

Monica B

Thank you so much for posting this article. It is very helpful to recognize some of the tricks used to get consumers to buy more; and sadly, I have fallen prey to some of these tricks without realizing it.

Skudda

I work at a grocery store and the point about the end caps not having the better deal is completely false, at least in my store and most stores I have been in. The front ends caps are always used to display the best sales of the week, and you usually can not find a better deal unless it’s the non name brand product which is usually garbage anyway. Other then that I have to agree with all the other points.

http://supersavingtips.com Super Saving Tips

On the 2-for-1, 10-for-$5 type deals, while it’s often true that you can get an individual item for the reduced price, it does depend on store policy. And even when the store allows you to buy just one item on the deal, they sometimes specify “must buy 3″ or some other number. So make sure you know you’re getting the lowest per-item cost.

Also be aware when stocking up on sale items, some stores will limit the number of items purchased. You can always come back and make another purchase.

EllesBells

the trick I always get a chuckle is on packaging. example: sugary treats that proudly proclaim “LOW in SODIUM!”, or salty foods that say “LOW IN SUGAR!”…yeah yeah yeah

Sophia

The way a grocery store is laid put has a lot to do with storage for the store itself. Can you imagine bringing produce, meats and dairy and frozen foods to the center isles…that would mean refrigeration and freezer storage in both the center and outer areas and transporting all that food every day back and forth. There is a very practical reason a grocery store is designed the way it is and it is not all about marketing a product.